STOCKTON'S Chris Newton insists that age won't weary him in his bid for one last Olympic medal.

The 33-year old won team pursuit bronze in Sydney and silver in Athens and is finally looking to go one better in Beijing in 12 months.

Great Britain won the world title in Majorca earlier this year and Newton can hear the Games countdown ticking ever louder.

"The team pursuit is still my main focus but it's going to take a lot of hard work just to earn my place on the plane," he said.

"There are some fantastic cyclists coming through and pushing all the current team hard but I like having the younger lads keep me on my toes.

"I've got a lot of confidence in what I've been doing and I'm sure we will have success in Beijing."

However, this weekend Newton's focus moves from track to road as he joins his Recycling.co.uk team-mates for the 550-mile, seven-stage Tour of Britain.

This will be Newton's fourth home Tour and he claims he's in the form to mix it up with some of the top continental riders competing, including recent Tour de France stage winners Robbie Hunter and Linus Gerdemann.

"The great thing about being on the Tour of Britain is that you can give the thousands of fans in this country a glimpse of what British cyclists can do," added Newton.

"It's going to be a difficult race with a lot of top-class riders over here but the our lads have come on in leaps and bounds recently and hopefully we can produce the goods again.

"It's been a really good season so far for me - I won the British Premier Calendar and I was 22nd overall in last month's Tour of Ireland.

"The team have done well in some stages races too and although our schedule has been hectic and we've never had a moment to stop, we're all really enjoying it."

Newton is targeting tomorrow's prologue, a 2.5km dash around London's Crystal Palace, as his best chance of a stage success.

And a win there would ensure he'd wear the yellow jersey for Monday's 86-mile slog from Reading to Southampton.

"The prologue should suit my riding style and it would be a fantastic start to head off from Reading in yellow," he adds.

"I'd like to be in the top ten this time around but I can't chase that from the off, I've got to see how the race develops.

"A stage win would also be great but I've just got to take it one day at a time and wait for my chance.

"I've been fortunate with what I've achieved in this sport but winning a stage of your home Tour is important to every cyclist."

For the latest news, results and route information visit www.tourofbritain.com